Brazil to attract companies to invest in solar energy at Intersolar Europe

Matchmaking at Intersolar Europe

Intersolar is the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners

Brazil is looking for companies that can strengthen the industry supply chain of solar energy in the country. In this sense, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) promotes an event at Intersolar, in partnership with the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (Absolar), aiming to bring information to entrepreneurs about the Brazilian potential in this sector, Government incentives, credit lines and the best locations to install power generation plants and parks.

On June 11, a seminar will take place at Messe München from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Room 11, with representatives of key government agencies and companies successfully established in the Brazilian market. In the afternoon, from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., at Room 13, there will be a matchmaking session between Federal and State Governments with companies, and between companies and potential investors.

In addition to Apex-Brasil, the event will also gather representatives of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI), the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro) and from the State Governments of Pernambuco, Minas Gerais and Bahia. Business associations from Brazil and Germany will also participate in the seminar: the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (Absolar), and the Solar Association of Germany (BSW-Solar). In addition, companies successfully established in Brazil will take part in the event, such as the Sowitec Group and the joint venture SunEdison & Renova, presenting the audience their experience in the Brazilian market.

Context

The Brazilian Federal Government announced two more solar energy auctions for 2015. The first should occur later in June. According to the rules, the auction winners will have three years to start offering their services. “Brazil is living an effervescent moment for the sector. There is a demand and there is time for them to settle in the country. It is worth remembering that, in addition to the Government-contracted energy, there is a growing consumer interest for this type of technology,” explains the investment manager of Apex-Brasil, Maria Luisa Cravo. “We want to show the opportunities we have to those companies who have not yet decided to establish in Brazil. This industry is one of our priorities in foreign investment attraction”, she says.

Last year, the Brazilian Government held the first solar energy auction. It was the most attended in history, with about eight hours of negotiations. The auction attracted investments of approximately R$ 7.1 billion, which will also be used in wind power projects. As a result of the 2014 Reserve Energy Auction held in October, the Energy Research Company (EPE) foresees the construction of 31 additional solar energy installations. The solar energy enterprises have a total installed capacity of 889.6 MW.

In May 2015, the BYD Group, from China, announced the first plant for photovoltaic panels in Brazil, which will be installed in São Paulo. The goal of the company is to produce 400 MW of solar panels per year.

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Richard Meijer

What I am doing: Besides running a privately hold real estate business I am blogging om MasterclassBrazil.com. MasterClass Brazil was set up to provide a one-stop source of deep-knowledge for the growing foreign business community in Brazil.

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